


Chess

by ShadowHachia



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 00:35:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20787662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowHachia/pseuds/ShadowHachia
Summary: Just a friendly game of chess.This was a commission on DeviantART and all rights to the characters mentioned are given to Bioware and the commissioner :')





	Chess

"Are you _sassing_ me, Commander?" Dorian said, unable to contain his excitement as he was able to get under the Inquisition's military commander's skin. "I didn't think you had it in you."

Already regretting his words, Cullen just sighed. He muttered to himself as he decided on his next move with the chess game they were playing. In the distance, a young elven woman was walking around. She was exploring Skyhold, having had the free time to do so between all the traveling she had been doing. Finally home, she was glad she could finally have some time to herself to just explore the place. Esmonde Lavellan was in awe at the architecture. The expanding arcs of stone spiraling in and out of the main building of the castle as well as how solid everything looked. She was certain it was elven in nature, some of the more elegant designs reminding her of some of the ancient elven constructs that she's seen from ruins and read about in books. She was walking into the courtyard, smiling as she saw the autumn colored leaves fluttering off the slender, white arms of the trees around her. Her crimson eyes flickered around, taking in the beauty of around her. She heard an irritated groan and looked over to see that she wasn't alone. She could see Dorian Pavus and Commander Cullen Rutherford sitting at a table together, playing a game... she supposed it was a game at least. The looks between the two men at least suggested it with how cocky Dorian looked and how disinterested Cullen was about the other's remarks. Her curiosity got the better of her and before she knew it, she was a few feet away from the men as she watched them playing their bizarre game with avid interest.

"I-Inquisitor?!" Cullen stammered as he rose out of his seat to greet her properly. Although Dorian snickered.

"Leaving? So does this mean I win?" He chided. Cullen pursed his lips together and sat back down, looking at the board. Esmonde watched as he moved one of the weird looking pieces he had and took one of the pieces that belonged to Dorian.

"Really? Because I just won." Cullen replied, leaning back in his chair. Dorian simply rolled his eyes in response as he pushed himself out of his chair.

"I wouldn't get too smug." He said as he walked away. "It's an ill fitting look for you." Esmonde watched as Dorian walked away and looked back to see Cullen looking at her. She looked away from him, shifting uncomfortably for a moment as she thought about what to do.

"I should probably return to my duties as well." He suggested. "Unless, you'd like to play a round?"

"I-I... uh... never played this game before." She confessed, stammering over her own words. She raised her hand to rub her arm, not sure what was the right reply to his suggestion.

"I can teach you, if you'd like?" He offered. "We haven't had much to actually talk about since Haven."

He wasn't wrong, though that's because since Haven, a lot had happened. Corypheus, or "The Elder One", attacking them and an avalanche covered their former base of operations. Plus there was the whole thing about Corypheus' army as well, something just told Esmonde that none of it "felt" right. Not to mention Corypheus' rather angry looking dragon that could be an actual Archdemon for all anyone knew. Though before Haven was destroyed, it's not like she had much of a relationship with Cullen anyways. She was just nervous around him because of his stature and he was sort of intimidating when they first met. Something about seeing a man fiercely fighting demons coming from a green hole in the air really puts somethings into perspective. It's not that she avoided him afterwards, but since the Inquisition started, Cullen has been rather argumentative with some of the people in Haven. Mostly towards the people that opposed the ideals of the Inquisition or just to make sure people got the orders they received.

"Sure?" She replied though it was more of a question. She wasn't entirely certain herself. Her understanding of the outside world was very limited since her clan kept a close eye on her most of her life. She nervously ran her hand through her short, white hair as she sat down in the seat Dorian had occupied.

Cullen rearranged the chess board and he explained each of the pieces to Esmonde, who was holding onto every word just about. Though she was fairly certain she'd forget everything that was just explained to her. He did reassure her that he could help her if she needed it. Although, she wanted to see if she could do it on her own at least before asking for help. Cullen let her make the first move and she stared at the pieces for a moment before boldly moving a pawn. He mimicked her first move and latter moves for a while. Mostly just to study her play style and to determine how he would play as well.

"I think I'm getting this?" She asked, tilting her head a bit as she moved her knight three spaces ahead of where it was. She heard him clearing his throat and looked at him shaking his head as she was about to remove her fingers from the chess piece.

"Think 'L' shape with the knight." He said. Esmonde stared at the board for a moment before tracing where it should move with her other hand, looking at Cullen until she was certain it was right. She repositioned her knight to the space left of where it was sitting before.

"Like this?" She asked, her hand still on the piece just in case she was wrong.

"Knights move a total of four space. Three straight in any direction then one space to the left or the right." He explained as he nodded at her correction. She silently cheered in success that she sort of remembered how to play one of the pieces on the board right. Now it was to remember what the others did.

She watched as he studied the board for a moment before taking one of his pieces -- the bishop, she vaguely recalled -- and moved it swiftly across the board to where her knight had been. He switched the pieces with his hand, taking Esmonde's knight as he replaced it with his bishop, discarding it off the board and onto the table. He leaned back and watched her for a moment. She simply looked at the board for a moment and moved a pawn to take the chess piece Cullen had played. She didn't take her hand off the pawn until she was certain it was the right move to make. So she discarded the chess piece onto the table like he had.

They were like this for a while, just playing their game. Taking turns and not really saying anything. Well anything of actual value. Cullen helped her with any questions she had about the different pieces on the board and what they did. Eventually, Esmonde was too wrapped up in getting better at the game to care if he was trying to beat her or letting her win. Though, she supposed it was the former since he had taken several of her chess pieces off the board already and she hadn't even made a dent on his side of the board. He was switching between the use of his knights and bishop, with the threat of his queen moving every now and then.

"Argh, this is hard." She frowned.

"You're not doing half bad." He chuckled. "It could be worse, Dorian could be teaching you and insulting you through it."

"At least I'd still have some pieces to play with." She mumbled as she looked between her pawns, rooks, and her remaining knight. She hadn't used her queen at all, mostly just to protect her king from being taken by another piece. Although, she was starting to wonder if she should use it but wasn't entirely sure if it was a good idea or not.

"I used to play this game with my sister all the time when I was younger." Cullen said, breaking through her thoughts. She looked up at him for a moment. "She used to beat me at it all the time and had this stuck-up grin whenever she won our games."

"Sounds like she was really good at this game." Esmonde mused.

"Yeah she was." He nodded, smiling at some distant memory he remembered. "My brother and I used to practice for weeks. Coming up with all sorts of strategies to try and beat her. The look on her face when I won... it made it worth it."

"I bet." She chuckled dryly. "I remember when one of my friends used to teach me how to hunt. My clan was against it, thinking that if I learned how to do anything that involved me leaving the halla or the aravels at our camp was going to spell bad luck. Until I did go hunting on my own one day and then I brought home a bear for dinner."

"That sounds like a story." He observed.

"It was." She laughed again. She motioned to her upper left arm, although covered with a leather strap, you could still see the pale outline of a scar. Three claw marks had seared into her skin and she remembered it like it was yesterday. She could recall every detail of that adventure so clearly and she reveled in it really. The whole thing made her clan realize that she could still contribute, even if she stood out more than the other members of her clan. Which was her goal for the whole thing plus she got a really good story to tell if the opportunity ever presented itself.

"These marks are from that same bear." She continued. "He was pretty relentless, but I got the better of him in the end."

"Was it really hard growing up?" He asked. She gave him a bizarre look and he just shook his head and waved his arms. "Er... I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that... umm..." She just watched as Cullen stammered to find his words, his face turning a shade of pink from the embarrassment. He eventually took a deep breath and exhaled it. "I mean, that I am curious about what it was like growing up with white hair and pale skin. I used to see some of mage apprentices in the Circle Towers I was charged with that had albinism and..." He sighed and frowned, looking slightly defeated. "Just forget I said anything."

"No, it's all right." She said, pushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "If I was offended by that, then I wouldn't be here." She watched as he visibly sighed in relief that he hadn't made the situation worse. Her smile stretched a little farther across her face, something about how flustered he was made her feel all giddy. She couldn't really explain it, maybe it was because she was being a little more comfortable around him? Creators knows what it could be.

"Er... anyways, it wasn't any different than you were growing up." She shrugged. "Not that I'd know about anyone else's experience, but, in mine, my clan was just..." Esmonde paused for a moment, trying to think of the word she was searching for. "Cautious? I suppose that would be the word? Most of the elders thought I had an affliction or something."

"I didn't know beauty was an affliction..." Cullen mumbled under his breath.

"What?" She asked, not having heard what he said.

"I was just saying that sounds like it was rough." He replied, sitting up straight and clearing his throat.

"Oh, well it was a little annoying." She continued as she looked at the chess pieces on the board. She picked a pawn and moved it one space forward. "I mean being treated as fragile or too much of a bother to do anything has that effect."

"Well clearly you showed them by taking on that bear." He replied.

"Yeah, the elders weren't too happy but I did get to contribute to my clan and prove them wrong." She nodded. She paused for a moment, looking at the board before eventually lifting her hand from the chess piece and letting Cullen play. "Anyways, I didn't know you had family. I have an older brother."

"Two sisters and a brother although I haven't seen them in years, between serving the Templars and now the Inquisition." He replied, leaning forward in his chair as he contemplated his next move. "They moved to South Reach after the Blight. I'm a little ashamed that I haven't written to them as often as I should."

"Why not do that when we're done then?" She asked as he took another one of her pieces. "Because I think you're going to win this game anyways."

Cullen just chuckled as they continued to play. A few more minutes went by and Esmonde had taken a few of his chess pieces but she only had a handful left now. Her king, queen, a rook, a pair of pawns and finally a knight. She furrowed her brows, trying to figure out another move to make. It was his turn but she wanted to try and figure out what she could move before it was her turn again. She asked him about a few of the pieces, wanting to make sure they were what she thought they were. She asked what the queen and rook did specifically as she recalled him saying that the king was basically like a queen but could only move one space in any direction.

"This might've been the longest we've gone without talking about the Inquisition." Cullen said, breaking the silence.

"Well we all need a break every now and then, right?" She asked as she watched him move his rook forward to claim her own. She used her knight to retaliate only for him to take the spot back with his queen. The move left her queen forced to move. So she moved it next to her king.

"Well it's an appreciated effort, nevertheless." He said as he moved his remaining rook to take one of her pawns. She looked up at him for a moment as after she moved her king to the left of where it had been. He moved his rook right next to her king and she took it with her queen. Although, to her dismay, Cullen took her queen with his own. Which left her in checkmate. She frowned, knowing she'd lose but had some hope she'd luck out on winning. Esmonde was silent for a few minutes, contemplating what to say next.

"We should spend more time together." She blurted and then was another moment of silence. "I mean so you can teach me how to be better at this game! I want to beat you at it some day and uh..." She stammered for a few seconds as she searched for something to say. She felt so flustered at the moment, her mind and heart racing quicker than she could comprehend what was going on.

"I would like that." He said, smiling. Now she wasn't sure what was worse: the sincerity of his smile, how adorable he looked in this moment, or if her mind was just playing tricks on her. She also swore her heart skipped a beat but that's preposterous. Also, when did he look so adorable? Could it have been the sun just making it seem that way? Or was this some sort of human trick of the mind? Esmonde just cleared her throat and smiled back at him.

"M-me too..." She mumbled as she looked at the board. She thought she heard him say something but shrugged it off because she was certain she was just overthinking everything. She could hear her heart beating in her ears and it was a little maddening. "A-anyways, thanks for playing this game with me. It was fun getting to know you a bit better and to try something new."

"Well, I'm always ready if you want a rematch or to practice." He replied. "I enjoyed this as well, getting to know the Inquisitor better rather than how she acts in the War Room is encouraging."

"How so?" She asked, looking at him curiously.

"A tale for another time." He chuckled as he gathered the chess pieces to put them in a velvet bag. She gathered the few pieces she had on her side of the board but Cullen simply waved her hands away after she deposited a few pieces. "I can clean this up, I need to get back to work anyways. Why not see if Leliana or Josephine need anything? I'm sure one of them is up to something."

"Oh, uh... alright." She said as she got up from the table.

Esmonde started to walk away from the table. She looked over her shoulder a few times before deciding to finish exploring Skyhold and perhaps see what Leliana and Josephine were up to -- if they were up to anything. Cullen watched as she walked away, after gathering all the pieces and folding the chess board so he could carry it in his hands. He relished the moment he shared with her until a soldier walked towards him after he left the courtyard. He looked at the report and follows the soldier towards Cullen's office. Back to work he went.


End file.
